Today's Inspiration: Measure Twice But Cut Once
PLAN WELL
before you start the journey
in every walk of life…
Remember
The Carpenter & Tailors rule is:
"Measure Twice But Cut Once"
7 Reasons You Feel Tired!
A busy lifestyle is often the culprit of fatigue. Yet, while this may be the guilty party a lot of the time, it's important not to always blame your tiredness on your hectic lifestyle. Before taking a more serious precaution, give yourself about two to three weeks to make some lifestyle changes. This would include getting more sleep, cutting back on your social calendar, eating more wholesome foods, drinking more fluids and cutting back on caffeine and alcohol.
If after you've made these changes you still feel the symptoms associated with fatigue, then it is essential that you seek medical help. Excess exhaustion could be the sign of a more serious medical condition that can be treated. Below are some common problems that you should be aware of:
1. Anemia
Fatigue caused by anemia is a result of a lack of red blood cells, which bring oxygen from your lungs to your tissues and cells. Other symptoms also include weakness and shortness of breath. Anemia may be caused by an iron or vitamin deficiency, blood loss, internal bleeding or a chronic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or kidney failure. Women of childbearing age are especially susceptible to iron-deficiency anemia due to blood loss during menstruation, as well as the body's need for extra iron during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Symptoms: Feeling tired all the time, alongside extreme weakness, difficulty sleeping, lack of concentration, rapid heartbeat, chest pains and headache. Simple exercises as well as climbing the stairs or walking short distances can also cause fatigue.
What to do: A thorough evaluation includes a physical exam and blood tests which would include a complete blood count (CBC), checking the levels of red blood cells. It is also a standard procedure to check the stool for blood loss.
2. Thyroid DiseaseIf your thyroid is not functioning as it should, every day activities will make you feel exhausted. The thyroid gland, found in the front of the neck, produces hormones that control your metabolism. If your gland is producing too much thyroid hormone, known as hyperthyroidism, your metabolism speeds up. If it is producing too little, known as hypothyroidism, your metabolism slows down.
Symptoms: Hyperthyroidism causes muscle fatigue and weakness, which you are likely to notice in your thighs first. You may also find exercises such as riding a bike or climbing stairs to become difficult. Unexplained weight loss is another symptom, as is feeling warm all the time, increased heart rate, shorter and less frequent menstrual flows and increased thirst. Hyperthyroidism is most common among women in their 20s and 30s, but it may occur in older women and men too. Hypothyroidism, on the other hand, is defined by an inability to concentrate, and muscle soreness, even with minor activity. Other symptoms include weight gain due to water retention, feeling cold (even in warm weather), heavier and more frequent menstrual flows and constipation.
Hypothyroidism is most common in women over the age of 50. Statistics show that as many as 10% of women past the age of 50 will have at least mild hypothyroidism.
What to do: Thyroid disease can be detected with a blood test. Thyroid disorders are treatable so if you do feel tired or muscle weakness, you should get your blood test done.
3. Diabetes
More than a million people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes each year - but there are many more who are unaware that they have it. Sugar, otherwise known as glucose, is the fuel that keeps your body going. But among people with type 2 diabetes, this tends to be troublesome as they are unable to use glucose properly causing it to build up in the blood. Consequently, without having enough energy to keep the body running smoothly, people with diabetes often notice fatigue as one of the first warning signs.
Symptoms: Tiredness, excessive thirst, frequent urination, hunger, weight loss, irritability, yeast infections and blurred vision.
What to do: Testing for diabetes includes the fasting plasma glucose test, which measures your blood glucose level after fasting for 8 hours and the oral glucose tolerance test where blood is drawn twice, just before drinking a glucose syrup and then, 2 hours later.
4. Depression
Depression is a major illness that affects the way we sleep, eat and feel about ourselves and others. Without treatment, depression may last for weeks, possibly months or even years.
Symptoms: Depression is not experienced in the same way, but common symptoms include decreased energy, changes in sleeping and eating patterns, problems with memory and concentration, feeling of hopelessness, worthlessness and negativity.
What to do: Unlike other diseases on the list, there is no blood test for depression. Instead, your doctor will likely ask you a series of questions. Furthermore, if you experience five or more of these symptoms below for more than two weeks, or if they interfere with your life than you need to see a doctor or a mental health professional: fatigue or loss of energy, sleeping too little or too much, a persistent sad, anxious or empty mood, reduced appetite and weight loss, increased appetite and weight gain, loss of interest or pleasure in activities you once enjoyed, restlessness or irritability, persistent physical symptoms that don't respond to treatment such as headaches, chronic pain or constipation, difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions, feeling guilty, hopeless or worthless, thoughts of death or suicide.
5. Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is not always easy to diagnose early. Though there are some subtle clues that you can look out for. It tends to happen when your immune system turns against itself and attacks healthy joint tissues, at times, resulting in irreversible damage to the bone and cartilage.
Symptoms: Symptoms such as fatigue, low energy, loss of appetite and joint pain are shared by other health conditions including other forms of arthritis such as fibromyalgia and lupus. Anemia and thyroid disorders are also common in people with RA. Other symptoms to look out for are morning stiffness in and around the joint that lasts for at least an hour before improvement, three joint areas with simultaneous soft tissue swelling or fluid, at least one joint area swollen in a wrist, knuckle or the middle joint of a finger, lumps of tissue under the skin and bone erosion in the wrist or hand joints, detected by x-ray.
What to do: A thorough physical exam is usually given by a rheumatologist. There is also a test for the presence of rheumatoid factor, an antibody found in the blood. Statistics show that about 80% of people with RA test positive for this antibody. Still, the test is not conclusive.
6. Chronic FatigueA baffling condition that tends to come on quickly. People who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome feel too tired to carry on with their normal activities and are easily exhausted with little exertion.
The symptoms: Other signs include headache, muscle and joint pain, weakness, tender lymph nodes and an inability to concentrate. The cause however, is unknown.
What to do: No tests can determine chronic fatigue syndrome. Rather, your doctor must rule out other conditions with similar symptoms such as multiple sclerosis and lupus before making the diagnosis.
7. Sleep Apnea
This sleep-disrupting problem occurs when you wake up feeling tired no matter how much rest you think you got. Sleep apnea is characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type where the upper airway closes or collapses for a few seconds. This in turn alerts your brain to wake you up, so that you may breathe again. Someone with obstructive sleep apnea may stop breathing dozens or even hundreds of times a night.
Symptoms: Sleep apnea is signaled by snoring, and is generally followed by tiredness the next day. It is important that you get it checked out as sleep apnea can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure and a stroke.
What to do: Testing for sleep apnea involves an overnight stay at a sleep clinic where you will undergo a polysomnogram - a painless test that will monitor your sleep patterns, breathing changes and brain activity.
Article source: unknown
What is diabetes, and how do I prevent it?
Diabetes is a condition in which the blood sugar or glucose present in the blood rises abnormally. This disease is caused when the pancreas do not produce enough insulin or the body stops responding to insulin. Insulin is a hormone which is required for the absorption of glucose by the cells in the blood. It is best to observe some simple precautions to effectively curb this disease:
1. Get Some ExerciseA good physical workout can help you prevent diabetes in many ways. Regular exercise helps you maintain a healthy body mass index (BMI) and also lowers your blood sugar. Exercise can also increase the sensitivity towards insulin. Aerobics and resistance training are some of the exercises especially helpful in preventing diabetes.
2. Increase Your Fibre Intake
Foods with high fibre content like apples, bananas, nuts, seeds and beans can significantly cut down the risk of diabetes. Fibre rich foods can also help lose weight by giving you a feeling of fullness.
3. Cut Down on Sugar
Intake of junk food which is high on processed sugars, salt and fat should be kept to the minimum. Home-cooked meals rich in vegetables and whole grains can help you lead a healthy life. Diabetes is among the most debilitating of lifestyle diseases, often the precursor to many other types of health disorders such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases and chronic illnesses of the eye.
4. Quit SmokingThe risk of developing diabetes is double in smokers than non-smokers. Quitting smoking will not only decrease your risk of diabetes, but of many other diseases as well.
5. Stop AlcoholBinging on alcohol can lead to increase in body weight as well as blood pressure and triglyceride levels.
6. Balanced DietYou can easily curb the risk of diabetes if you provide optimum nutrition to your body. A balanced diet is one of the classic and best ways to control your blood sugar and also your risk of diabetes.
7. Choose Good FatsPolyunsaturated fats are regarded as good fats as they can help in lowering the risk of diabetes. These types of fats can be found in vegetable oils and oil from nuts and seeds.
8. Get Frequent Check-upsEarly detection of diabetes is one of the best ways to effectively prevent it from getting worse. Get your blood sugar levels tested every three months so that you can take extra precautions if chances of diabetes surface.
Type 2 diabetes is a result of sedentary lifestyle and a bad diet. If you follow a simplistic lifestyle which incorporates exercise and a balanced diet, then you can easily stay away from this disease
Article source: unknown
Top 8 Ways To Get Rid Of Negative Thoughts And Enjoy Life
“Everything has beauty,
but not everyone sees it” -Confucius.
Our thoughts define us.
They shape our perception. Positive and negative thoughts have the ability to
influence the outcome of our day. To enjoy every day of life, one needs to get
rid of the negative thoughts. If you are at the university, you must be struggling
to complete numerous assignments on tight deadlines. You may even be asking
questions like “ who can write my
essay fast for me”. Many times negative thinking becomes part of our daily
routine in less than no time. And it’ll not stop bothering you unless you
decide to take some action to drive them out of your mind.
The more you try to push
them out of your mind, the deeper you sink into the hole of negativity. So, you
wonder “am I ever going to get out it?” and more alike thoughts start to march
inside your head.
Take listed approaches to
pin-down negative thoughts:
• Keep yourself engaged: Idle mind likes to
swimming deep in thought. If you’re swaddled in negative thoughts, giving
yourself much time to linger and wonder might not be a good idea. So, keep
yourself engaged this way or that.
• Talk: Keeping things inside all
the time can lead to negative thought. So, get your emotions, fears, and
anxieties out by talking with your trusted ones. You can also start writing a
diary. This way might just find out the origin of your negative thoughts, and
it's much easier to lead them out after that.
• Be mindful of your thoughts: Always trying to resist
negative thoughts will make them more powerful. So, instead of trying to resist
them, welcome them and be mindful of the nature of your negative thoughts. Try
to get to the root from where your negativity sprouted.
• Meditation: It’s a powerful practice
that can drive out all the negative thoughts out of your mind. Not just that,
it also helps you build a more subtle concentration level.
• Body language: If you don’t have a
confident body language it might lead to degraded self-image. So, it’s vital to
maintain a good body language.
• Stay more out and less in: Observe the world you are
living in. Be aware of your surrounding. Eat your food in a mindful manner.
Stay focused on the outer world more than your inner self for the time being.
Once the things are back to normal, you can start diving inside again.
• Read self-help books: Books are true
companions. There are plenty of well-recognized books that can help one
overcome the pattern of negative thoughts.
• Indulge
yourself in something creative: Find a hobby. The act of immersing yourself in
beautiful things beautifies your mind too.
“I promise if you keep
searching for everything beautiful in this world, you will eventually become
it.” ― Tyler Kent White
Smallest and Cutest Animals on Earth!
Have you ever wondered what the smallest animal in the world is? If you have, you’ve certainly come to the right place. Some animals are so small, you’ll find it hard to believe your eyes. What makes things even more exciting is that researchers and scientists have only recently discovered many of these animals, making us wonder what other small and wonderful creatures are lurking about out there.
Below you’ll find 15 of the world’s smallest animals and they’ll make your heart melt!
1. Pygmy Rabbit
The pygmy rabbit is the smallest and rarest rabbit in the world. On average, they can range from 9-11 inches (22.86-27.94 cm) in length, and weigh little less than a pound (0.45 kg).
2. Pygmy Marmoset
While the pygmy rabbit is the smallest rabbit, in the primate world, the pygmy marmoset is the tiny king. They can be found in South America and they’re so small, they can fit inside a human’s hand. They usually weigh 3-5 ounces (0.09-0.14 kg) and are only 6 inches (15 cm) tall.
3. Brookesia Micra Chameleon
Found on the island of Madagascar, this chameleon is the tiniest chameleon ever discovered. It’s so small that it can easily sit on top of the head of a matchstick or the tip of a person’s index finger.
4. Dwarf Lantern Shark
These sharks are rare as they swim 440m below the ocean’s surface near South America. Not a lot is known about this tiny species of shark, but we do know that they’re small enough to fit into a human hand.
5. Etruscan Shrew
This isn’t just the smallest shrew known to man, but it’s also the smallest mammal by mass. They usually weigh less than 2 grams (0.002 kg) and measure only 1.5 inches (3.8 cm). Even though they’re tiny, they have huge appetites and eat twice their body weight every day.
6. Royal Antelope
Found in the rainforests of Sierra Leone and Ghana, this is the world’s smallest antelope, measuring around 10 inches (25.4 cm) and weighing about 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg). Due to its secretive and nocturnal nature, they’re very hard to spot.
7. Smallest Seahorse
Marine biologists found what is believed to be the world’s smallest seahorse in the western Pacific Ocean. Known as Hippocampus denise, they originally thought it was a baby seahorse. This seahorse measures just 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) long.
8. Speckled Padloper Tortoise
Yup, you guessed it, the speckled padloper tortoise is the smallest tortoise in the world. Measuring only 3 inches (7.6 cm) for males and 4 inches (10.16) for females, these cute little creatures can be found roaming around South Africa.
9. Paedophryne Amauensis Frog
At the size of a housefly, this is the smallest known animal with a backbone. It averages around 0.3 inches (0.77 cm) and is even dwarfed by a U.S. dime.
10. Pygmy Mouse Lemur
Living in Madagascar, this tiny lemur weighs just 2 ounces (0.05 kg). Its head and body measures at roughly 2 inches (5 cm), while its tail is twice the length of its body.
11. Thorius Arboreus
This is the smallest known salamander, and it can be found in Mexico. It measures a mere 0.7 inches in length (1.7 cm) and has a slender body and wide head. Unfortunately, they’re now endangered due to logging and farming.
12. Samoan Moss Spider
We all know spiders can be pretty small, not to mention scarily gigantic, but in this particular case, a Samoan moss spider wins the Guinness Book of World Record’s award for being the smallest spider in existence.. It measures only 0.03 cm.
13. Threadsnake
The world’s smallest snake was discovered on the island of Barbados. The threadsnake measures in at only 4 inches (10.16 cm) and is about as wide as two or three spaghetti noodles. Sadly, most its natural habitat has been destroyed by buildings and farms.
14. Paedocypris Fish
This is the world’s smallest vertebrate. From head to tail it measures just 3.1 inches (7.9 cm) and can fit comfortably on a human finger. This fish has the ability to survive in highly acidic water.
15. Dwarf Three-Toed Jerboa
It looks a piece of cotton wool with two eyes and giant legs, but the dwarf three-toed jerboa is actually the smallest rodent in the world. It weighs less than an ounce (0.03 kg) and has a body that is just 1.7 inches (4.3 cm) long.
